Break Up, Make Up
by Detective Rysposito
Summary: Prompt- Esposito broke up with Lanie and Beckett is really pissed at him on behalf of her friend... until she realizes that the reason he did it was because he's in love with Ryan and when she works out how adorable they are together she forgives him.


**This is a prompt fill for anon on the ryanandesposito livejournal. **

Lanie had been snippy all morning long, even to Beckett and frankly Beckett was pissed.

Of course not at Lanie; it was Esposito that she wanted to beat into next week.

It had taken her until noon to get her best friend to spill about what had her so worked up.

"_It's your thick-headed partner, okay? He's a dumb ass and I'm sick of all of it." The M.E. huffed and slammed her report on her desk with more force than necessary. _

_Beckett's eyes softened, but her heart beat faster; promising herself she would deal with the idiot that broke her best friend's heart. "Lanie...I'm so sorry...I'll go and whoop his ass if that'd make you feel any better."_

_Lanie sighed_ _softly with a small smile that surprised Beckett, "No, it's not his fault. There's someone else in his life and I just don't think I'm the one for him. I'm actually hoping those two work out."_

_Beckett's face scrunched in confusion, "What? Are you kidding? You think it's okay for him to just drop a_ _beautiful woman like you the minute that some woman walks by?" Beckett shook her head, "He was probably just going through one of his moods and just to spite you, picked up some random half dressed whore in a drunken haze." _

_Lanie's eyebrows rose up into her hairline, "You do realize this is Javi we're talking about right? Do you really think he would do that to me? He loves me."_

_Beckett knew her earlier assumption had been 100% wrong, but isn't that what friends do, bad talk the boys that break your heart? "If he loved you he wouldn't have just left you, Lanie."_

_"No, Kate," Lanie said softly taking her hand in hers. "If he didn't love me, he wouldn't have tried so hard to keep our relationship going. I was the one that pointed it out. I guess half of me wishes he was mine, but I'm happy for him."_

_"I will_ never _understand you, Lanie." Beckett sighed sadly wishing her friend was angry so at least she could vent out her frustration. Beckett was more upset over the break up than Lanie was!_

But, Lanie or not, Beckett promised herself she would get down to the bottom of Javier's mysterious new girlfriend and find out just what was so special about her.

She stomped all the way back up to the morgue to the bullpen, waiting until their shift was over for the night to confront Esposito.

She spent the whole day giving Espo glares and figured since Lanie wasn't, someone had to give him the silent treatment.

The rest of her team had caught on and questioned her as to why she was upset with Esposito, but she ignored them too.

Finally, the time came when they were exiting the Precinct and she watched Esposito try and slip out before Castle or Ryan would notice. But she did.

She stayed a safe distance behind him until there was no one around to interrupt them and she stomped over and corned him between the brick wall of a building. "Javier Esposito!"

Esposito jumped, startled that after the full day of a silent treatment the first words Beckett said were a yell. "Beckett, what-?"

"Quiet, Esposito! I don't care about what mid-life crisis you're going through, but do you really think it's okay to just dump Lanie when some other girl comes along?!" Beckett was poking his chest hard with her finger.

"Beckett, it's not what you think. Really, I didn't want to hurt Lanie at all." Esposito's eyes widened and darted around.

"Really? She was happy with you, Espo!" Beckett backed up from him a bit and crossed her arms over her chest.

"So was I! But, there's just, ugh, you wouldn't understand, Kate, _please_." Esposito finally looked her in the eyes, but Beckett didn't show any remorse.

"Where are you going, huh? To meet up with her?" She gritted her teeth, not believing she had to have this conversation with Espo.

"It's Madden Night." He said losing his patience with her.

"Uh-huh, and you're all nervous for Ryan." She said sarcastically rolling her eyes because she _knew_ Espo was lying.

Espo went back to his previous state of not looking her in the eye and avoided her retort. She sighed and softened her tone. "Can you at least tell us who it is?"

Espo narrowed his eyes, "Beckett, you _wouldn't_ understand."

And just like that she was upset again, "Yeah well, when you're over this little sissy fit and this _fling_ is over, don't expect her to greet you with open arms." She spat the word in disgust before walking away.

She droned out Esposito's shouts after her about how she didn't know what she was talking about because she really didn't care.

For the past 4 months, Lanie would talk non-stop about how wonderful Javier was and how much in love they were in and how she thought he was the one. And he just dumped her. It took a lot to get Beckett upset at one of her partners, but this was definitely enough.

She spent the whole night trying to figure put who Espo would leave Lanie for. He argued that it wasn't a fling, but Beckett _knew_ that Espo didn't get serious with just anyone. It had to be serious because both Espo and Lanie still deeply cared for one another and Espo wouldn't stop that for just anyone.

The only people other than Lanie that Espo was good friends with were her, Ryan, and Castle. Not much anyone else unless there was someone she didn't know about. Maybe Ryan knew about her; she'd have to ask him tomorrow.

The next morning Beckett had convinced herself that she wasn't upset with Espo, she would handle this like an adult and look for the clues to see just what in the Hell was going on without losing her temper.

That was until she saw Espo walk in, his neck covered in bruises. She tried to hold back the growl, but she couldn't. She saw the look in his eye, she knew that look; it was the same look that Beckett remembered her father wearing whenever he saw her mom.

Maybe that's what was killing her; Espo obviously _loved_ this girl, but who would he drop Lanie for?

She watched as he chose to head into the break room to get his morning coffee in favor of sifting through his paperwork covered desk.

Ryan walked in a few minutes later, no more walked than he did limp. Beckett watched him lower himself uncomfortably in his chair, and his face pinch up in pain. "You okay, Ry?"

Ryan's eyes shot open, not realizing he was being watched and nodded quickly, "Yeah, just fell down the steps this morning. Wasn't watching where I was going."

Beckett nodded and decided now was as good as time as any while his partner wasn't attached at his hip to question the Irishman, "Have you noticed anything different about Esposito?"

"Hmm?" Ryan opened his eyes slowly when he was trying to catch up on his rest without actually sleeping.

"Why did he break up with Lanie? More like for who?" She wasn't looking at Ryan's reaction so she missed Ryan's face pale ever so slightly.

"Well, not really my business, you know?" He cleared his throat.

Beckett ignored him, "Hickies, Ryan, all over his neck. He ended it with Lanie _yesterday _so how the Hell did he get with this slut so fast? How could he leave Lanie for some whore off the street?"

She looked up, expecting to see Ryan's agreeing face, but instead his eyes were narrowed and he looked angry. "Beckett, you don't know who Espo is seeing so I don't think you really have the right to say that about them."

"What? And you do?" Beckett was getting real sick of all this drama between her team even if she was mostly the cause.

Ryan ignored her question and said, "You want to know what I think? I think you're upset that Espo dumped Lanie and are trying to use the anger that Lanie let go of. You don't know who Espo left her for and that's frustrating you. You're jumping to all of these conclusions about Javier and I can't tell you who he's seeing, but I can tell you you're wrong about everything." Ryan's voice wasn't as fierce as it was when he began, he slowly calmed down, but Beckett could see she'd struck a nerve.

"I know, God, I'm such an idiot. I'm sorry. I just feel like _everyone_ knows something I don't!" She ran a hand through her hair. "Hell, Lanie loved him and they're not together anymore but yet she's okay with that! I just don't know what's going on anymore, Ryan."

Ryan sighed and rubbed her arm softly, "Everything's fine, Beckett, really. You just have to believe me."

Beckett didn't want to, but she gave up and nodded letting him get back to work.

For the rest of the day, Beckett didn't talk to anybody. Not because she was upset, but because she was thinking all day about how she had acted. Ryan was right, none of this was really any of her business; if Lanie was okay then she should be.

She knew that she owed Espo an apology and maybe if she spoke to him like the friend that he was, he'd trust her enough to tell her who he was seeing. And then maybe she'd understand, she highly doubted she would be okay with whoever this girl was that Espo left Lanie for, but she could pretend.

They stayed late that night, it was one of those nights when the team was staying in the Precinct past their shifts, shoving as many hours into overtime that they could to finish up their current case.

The four were the only ones on the Homicide floor at the moment as they exhaustingly sorted through paperwork.

Espo and Ryan had left to get more coffee in the break room 15 minutes ago and both Beckett and Castle were starting to wonder what had them held up so long.

"I'll go check," Beckett offered so that maybe when she went she could ask to speak with Espo privately and apologize for everything that's happened the past two days.

"Bet you 10 bucks one of them fell asleep, another 10 if it was Ryan." Castle grinned from his chair next to her desk.

Beckett rolled her eyes and told the writer to behave himself while she left to the break room.

She was about to push open the door when she heard Espo's whispers and stopped herself. "I love you, mi corazón, more than there are stars in the sky."

Beckett's heart stopped, so Espo's secret girl was in the break room right now? She must work at the Precinct, but Beckett didn't notice anyone else enter the bullpen.

She could open this door right now and let her get a good look at this girl herself or she could respect her partner's privacy and wait. If he brought her here then maybe he was going to introduce her to his partners.

She wasn't sure what to do until she heard the voice of Espo's mysterious lover whisper back how much he loved him as well.

"Oh my _God_." Beckett whispered not moving a muscle so her presence stayed unknown to the couple in the break room.

How had she not seen it before? The lingering touches, the smiles , the stares, the laughs, the amount of time they spent together, the hickeys and the limp; it was all so obvious.

Javier was in love with Kevin!

No wonder Ryan had got annoyed when she had accused Espo of picking up some 2 dollar hooker. _He was the 2 dollar hooker_, except less '2 dollar hooker' and more 'love of his life'.

As she continued to eavesdrop on her partners, it only enhanced how painfully obvious their love for each other was.

"I'm sorry for all this trouble I caused, Javi."

"You? It was me, I'm the one that took so long to realize and hurt so many along the way."

"Lanie's fine with us, she told me, really."

"It's not Lanie I'm worried about."

Oh. Beckett knew he was worried about her and she wanted nothing more than to burst through the door and hug him and take back everything she said.

"We could just tell them, Javi."

"Who?"

"Her, Castle."

"You really think that'll go over well? Roach'll get a porn spin off book."

"That's a bad thing?" She could hear the smile in Ryan's voice as he tried to lighten the mood.

"Kev, this is serious."

"I'm being serious. I don't want to have to hide us."

"We won't, at least not from everyone."

Beckett's heart hurt when she heard Ryan's soft sigh, "I understand, us being gay and in the NYPD and everything, but we can trust our family."

"Tomorrow's movie night, we'll tell them then."

"Deal."

"And tonight to help make the wait seem faster, we can go for round two?"

"I don't think so, babe, I still cannot feel my ass."

Beckett urged herself to leave now that it was getting sexual, but when she peeked into the door's window and saw Ryan wrapped up in Espo's arm as the ex-military soldier place a soft kiss to the Irishman's lips it finally dawned on her.

Those two loved each other more than most married couples she knew. The way they looked at each other and the way that Espo held Ryan like he was the most delicately valuable thing in the world was the cutest thing she's ever seen.

And finally, she realized why Lanie was so calm with Espo leaving her. Because Lanie and Esposito weren't meant to be; if Beckett were her, she'd hate to have to compete against Ryan for Espo's love. Lanie would find her Prince Charming one day, a man that devoutly loved her and no one else because Espo had already found his and Lanie wasn't going to be the one to come between them.

Ryan and Esposito loved each other more than anything and Beckett for one was more than happy to accept it, now that she saw just how in love they really were.

And no quote, or couple, or song could describe the two's love better than the way they looked at one another.


End file.
